Vaping refers to using an electronic device that is handheld to exhale the mist (“vapor”) through your lung. A vape pen, e-cigarette, or another electronic nicotine delivery device (ENDS) can heat a liquid of nicotine and flavorings, propylene glycol, and other ingredients into an aerosol you breathe through the mouthpiece. Vaping can lead to breathing issues, damage to your organs and lungs, dependency, and other ailments.
What exactly is vaping?
Vaping is the process of using a small and portable electronic device (like vape pens, e-cigarettes, and mods) to inhale a cloud of flavor and nicotine (e-liquid). It is like smoking cigarettes, but vaping is heating tiny particles out of liquids instead of smoking tobacco.
What is the process of vaping?
Vaping involves heating liquid inside a small device that allows you to inhale the smoke into your lung. The vape pen, e-cigarette, or another device heats the liquid inside the device to produce an aerosol. This is not water or vapor. E-cigarette mist has nicotine, flavorings, and other ingredients suspended in the air. The particles are blown directly into the mouth via the mouthpiece, which goes down your throat and eventually into your lungs.
What exactly are e-cigarettes (vape pens)?
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is an electronic device that heats nicotine in liquid form and also flavoring for you to inhale. Numerous varieties of electronic cigarettes are known under different names, including vapes, vape pens, sticks, hookahs, mods, hookah sticks, and personal vapers (PVs). They are also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).
The majority of electronic cigarettes have the following:
- A container, tank, or pod that stores fluid (can be refillable).
- A heating element turns the liquid into air-tight particles (aerosol, often called “vapor”).
- A battery that powers an element for heating.
- A control or power button (some are activated by sensors when you breathe in).
- A mouthpiece for breathing into the aerosol.
What is the difference between smoking and vaping cigarettes?
Smoking and vaping involve inhaling nicotine and other substances in your lung. E-cigarettes warm liquids to create an aerosol. Smoking cigarettes burn tobacco and generates smoke.
Are cigarettes and vaping more harmful than smoking?
Vaping is generally believed to be more secure than smoking cigarettes. However, vaping can cause health issues, as well. Smoking and vaping are addictive and can introduce potentially harmful substances into the body. The concentrations of many of these chemicals are higher when you use tobacco. Vaping is not around long enough to determine what long-term harm it can cause.
What do vaping does to your lung?
The particles you breathe in during vaping may cause swelling (swelling) and irritation of your lungs. It can cause lung damage, such as scarring or shrinking in the tubes which transport air into and out of your lung. Researchers are not quite sure of how smoking cigarettes can affect the body.
Isn’t it just water vapor?
No. Contrary to what you might think, vaping does not create water vapor. It produces an aerosol (or mist) of small pieces of nicotine, metal, and other toxic substances.
What is in e-liquid (e-juice)?
E-liquid, also referred to as vape juice or e-juice, is the vape juice used by devices to create the vapor which you breathe in. E-liquids are not simply water. They typically include:
- Flavoring. Each flavoring comes with distinct ingredients.
- Nicotine is poisonous and addictive in tobacco cigarettes and other products.
- Propylene glycol and Glycerin are utilized to make the vapor.
E-liquids and flavorings may contain additional ingredients, such as:
- Chemicals that trigger cancer ( carcinogens), such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde.
- Chemicals like acrolein diacetyl and diethylene glycol are known to cause lung cancer.
- THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the chemical in marijuana that gets you “high.”
- Vitamin E Acetate is connected to lung injury caused by smoking (EVALI See below).
- Metals with heavyweights such as lead, nickel, tin, and Cadmium.
- Tiny (ultrafine) pieces of dust that could penetrate your lungs.
RISKS / BENEFITS
What are the risks of smoking vapes?
The risks of vaping are damage to your lung and other organs, breathing issues, addiction, and a host of other things. Many people consider vaping “safer” than smoking, but it is certainly not secure.
Vaping problems can be caused by:
- Asthma. Vaping can make you more likely to develop asthma and other lung ailments. It could make your current asthma worse.
- Lung scarring. Diacetyl, a chemical that is used in certain flavors, can trigger the condition known as bronchiolitis obliterans (“popcorn lung”). Bronchiolitis Obliterans is a condition that causes permanent scarring on your lung.
- Organ damage to the organs. In addition to your lungs, nicotine and other chemicals in e-liquids can affect your heart and brain. We know nicotine may harm the brain’s formation, raise your blood pressure and narrow your blood vessels.
- EVALIL (e-cigarette or vaping products that cause lung injuries). EVALI is a severe lung problem caused by vaping. It can cause extensive lung damage and can cause symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath, and chest discomfort. EVALI is a fatal condition.
- Addiction. Nicotine is highly addictive. It triggers changes in your brain, causing you to crave more nicotine. You may be unable to quit vaping whether you wish to or should it start creating health issues. Even e-liquids that claim to be nicotine-free have tiny quantities of nicotine.
- Smoking cigarettes. Many people start smoking vapes and then eventually smoke cigarettes with higher quantities of hazardous chemicals.
- Exposure to second-hand. Vaping does not make you smoke, but the people around you are exposed to nicotine and other chemicals while you smoke.
- Explosions. There have been incidents of batteries used in vape devices exploding and leading to severe burns and injuries.
- Cancer. Some ingredients in E-liquids have been proven to be the cause of the development of cancer.
What is EVALI?
EVALI is an abbreviation for electronic cigarettes or vaping, a product that causes lung injuries. The condition is severe and can be a lung disease caused by vaping. Vitamin E Acetate, present in a few e-liquids, could be a reason.
A rash of EVALI in the latter part of 2019 and early 2020 left thousands of people in hospital. There were at least 68 deaths. Since that time, EVALI cases have been decreasing. However, people who smoke cigarettes can still contract EVALI.
In the case of those admitted to hospitals with severe EVALI, the majority were younger than 35. It used vapes with THC from unofficial sources (online or from family members or friends). However, EVALI can happen in any person who uses nicotine – or vapes that contain THC.
The symptoms of EVALI are:
- Cough.
- Breathlessness.
- Chest pain.
- Fever.
- Vomiting.
- Diarrhea.
- Stomach pain.
- Fast heartbeat.
What are the adverse consequences of smoking vape?
Some of the short-term side effects of vaping are:
- Coughing.
- Breathing shortness.
- Eye irritation.
- Headaches.
- Dry and itchy throat and mouth.
- Nausea.
What are the benefits of vaping?
You have probably heard that the benefits of smoking vapes are that they are safe or can help you quit smoking. Many people use vaping because they believe it will aid in quitting smoking after trying different methods but have not quit. However, you may become addicted to the habit, so the benefits of using a vape to quit smoking might not be as great as they appear. Vaping has no benefits, even if you are not already smoking.
Many people believe that vaping is not as bad as smoking cigarettes; however, the smoke contains nicotine and other harmful chemicals. Vaping is not a safe option and could cause health issues, including severe lung injuries that can be life-threatening.
Do your lungs recover by smoking vapes?
A few lung injuries caused by vaping may be treated or healed through medication. Other injuries, such as lung scarring, last for a long time. With time, the constant irritation to your lungs could result in health issues (like asthma or COPD) that will not disappear. Completely.
Can vaping kill you?
In certain instances, it is possible to suffer lung damage due to vaping. Sixty-eight individuals were killed in a vaping-related disease (EVALI) rash in 2019 and 2020.
Is it safe to use vape during pregnancy?
It is not recommended to use vapes while expecting. Vaping exposes you to chemicals similar to those smoking cigarettes. Vaping during pregnancy can lead to lower birth weights, lung problems, and brain damage in the developing fetus.
